This is a collection of evidence against Liam Richard­Howes’ claims of initiation. Please makesure to put your information including any screen captures and links in the body of this documentin the right area.

Santería Initiation Claims

Liam Richard­Howes claims to have been initiated in Santería but the date of his initiation isHIGHLY questionable as he himself reports contradictory information about when his initiationtook place.

On Liam Richard­Howes’ personal Facebook profile, his birthdate is listed as February 17, 1978.As of the date of this page's compilation (September 21, 2013) that would make Liam 35 yearsold.

On his KiwiMojo.com website (as of September 21, 2013) Liam claims to have been initiated asa priest to Obatala when he was 6 months old. That would make Liam a priest of 34 years inOcha. Is it possible for someone to be initiated in Santeria at the age of 6 months old ­technically yes it is. There is no age limit on when someone can be initiated.

[The initiation ceremony into the priesthood of Santeria is called the "Kariocha" or "Asiento" orsometimes "Hacer Santo" (make the saint).]

On this page he also claims that in 2004 he went through the ceremony of Pinaldo (reception ofthe knife) as a completion of his kariocha. Pinaldo is not a completion of a person's ocha, it is aceremony to confer the authority to use the knife in sacrifices, it gives that person a confirmationof their initiation in the form of a second life reading (itá). It makes someone more of anautonomous priest as they can accomplish ceremonies without someone to officiate thesacrifices. But for now let's assume that Liam is just using a different description of theceremony, and let's believe what he says ­ that he made Kariocha in 1978 and received Pinaldoin 2004.

Here is a screen capture of the page where he makes these claims as of Sept. 21, 2013)http://www.kiwimojo.com/oursosyete.htm ­ Check the link for yourself (although it is likely he willchange it after this goes public. A screen capture seals this content in time.)

Here is a magnified pull quote from the page for ease of legibility:

Transcript of the above graphic:In 2004, I completed my Kariocha ceremony by receiving Pinaldo [the sacred knife] andaffirmed my status as an oloricha, a Priest of the Orisha Tradition. In 1978, at just 6 months old,I was crowned to Obatala within the Igbodu and was given the name Efunsegun Adeyefa and Ibecame a Santero, a Priest of Santeria.

What is Written Cannot Be Erased

If we use the Wayback Machine internet archive site (which periodically archives and saveswebsites' historical information) to look at the same KiwiMojo.com web page LiamRichard­Howes contradicts this claim. He states that he was initiated (kariocha) in 2004 as apriest of Obatala, not in 1978. He also makes no mention of Pinaldo. Note, his website, as

recently as September 17, 2012 stated this as fact.

Here is a screen capture of the page where he makes these claims up until at least Sept. 17,2012)http://web.archive.org/web/20120917201010/http://www.kiwimojo.com/oursosyete.htm ­ Checkthe link for yourself. This is throgh the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org) which captureschanges to websites over time.

Here are the magnified pull quotes from the page for ease of legibility:

Transcript of the above pull quote:In 2004, I underwent the Kariocha ceremony and was also made a priest of Santeria. I wascrowned to Obatala within the Igbodu and was given the name Efunsegun Adeyefa and I becamea Santero, a Priest of Santeria.

Transcript of the above pull quote:In 2003, I was in Florida, USA when I met the people who would be my Godparents in Santeria.Through consultations with Eleggua it became clear to me that I would not be able to avoidentering this tradition any longer, that the Oricha wanted me and that the only real choice was toanswer the call. In 2004 I entered the igbodu and underwent the Asiento, and was crowned apriest of Obatala. Throughout my iyaboraje [or “year in white” as it is often affectionately referredto], I studied constantly the language, ceremonies and responsibility of a Santero. I learnt to carefor my Oricha, how to prepare their foods, offer them correct ceremonies, make the properebbos and of course, the greatest aspect of the religion, I learnt to read their most sacred oracle,the Diloggun.

(editors note: the red text above highlights the word Asiento, specifying once and for all that thiswas his initial initiation)

The About Us page on his Kiwimojo.com site when pulled up in the Wayback Machine (archivedfrom August 22, 2012) also reflects that he did not receive Pinaldo in 2004, but that he wasinitiated as a priest ­ Kariocha ­ in 2004. Here is a screen capture of the following URL ­ click onit and see for yourself:

http://web.archive.org/web/20120822192039/http://www.kiwimojo.com/aboutus.htm

A pullquote enlarged for your reading convenience:

Transcript of the above pull quote:An “ile” runs much like any household in the world. We are a family. There are parents andgrandparents, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles who come together to celebrate andhonour the Oricha through tambor [dances] and other feasts in honour of the Oricha, the Saintsof Santeria. We were born from Ile Eleggua in Ocala, Florida in 2004 when our founding Santero,Efunsegun Adeyefa, was born from the Igbodu and completed his iyaboraje, we are honoured tomaintain our relationship with our madrina and padrino through Ile Eleggua, and we are a housethat honours the traditions of Ifa and Efunsegun’s spiritual father in Ocha is an Oluwo, a seniorBabalawo [High Priest of our religion.

It is very clear that Liam did not go through Pinaldo in 2004, but instead he likely went through hisKariocha. A person does not go through a "year in white" after receiving Pinaldo ­ only after theirKariocha. It is worth noting that his most recent revision of history on his website shows the

"iyaboraje/year­in­white" removed from the second pull quote above, and the whole story revisedto be about Pinaldo.

In his more recent rewriting of his Sosyete Page (http://www.kiwimojo.com/oursosyete.htm) heclaims that he needed to receive Pinaldo to fully function as an olorisha (priest) in Santeria. Thisis incorrect. A person can function fully in the religion including having godkids and reading theoracle of diloggún without having received Pinaldo. He also states that in 2004 he "returned toNew Zealand with the orishas" and that his life has never been the same since. If he was goingfor Pinaldo he would have already had the orishas with him and would have taken them to Floridaas part of the ceremony. He wouldn't be bringing them to New Zealand for the first time.

Clearly, Liam doesn't understand the function of the priesthood or how it operates in the religion,and has never gone through the Pinaldo ceremony, which is likely due to the distance from hissupposed godparents in Florida and the inability to regularly participate in the religiouscommunity with elders.

Further Contradictions In Santeria Initiation Years

Liam Richard­Howe's Etsy store page indicates that he was initiated (Kariocha) in 2004 andbecame a priest in Santeria. Again ­ NOT Pinaldo. Check the following screenshot of his Estystore profile dated September 21, 2013.

Page URL: http://www.etsy.com/people/hounganliam?ref=owner_profile_leftnav

He is likely to change his profile so screen captures are provided for your convenience.

An enlarged pullquote of the text above is provided for legibility:

Transcript of the above graphic:In 2004, I underwent the Kariocha ceremony and was also made a priest of Santeria. I wascrowned to Obatala within the Igbodu and was given the name Efunsegun Adeyefa and I becamea Santero, a Priest of Santeria.

Once again we have Liam claiming he underwent Kariocha in 2004.

When Houngan Liam Richard­Howes is confronted in online discussions he is the first person topull out his "years" of initiation as justification for his opinions. His arguments and opinions areoften presented in a very condescending manner toward those who are uninitiated, and in adisrespectful manner against those who ARE initiated.

In an online discussion on Facebook, held on April 1, 2013 within the American Hoodoo andRootwork discussion group, Liam claimed to have 34 years crowned in the religion. In this casehe was arguing with another priest regarding religious practices and standards.

In another online discussion on Facebook, held on June 30, 2013 within the American Rootworkand Hoodoo discussion group, Liam claims he has 35 years initiated (which doesn't even workwith the math of his claims of being initiated at 6 months of age). In this instance he is using his"years" of initiation as justification for his statement and dares anyone to question him.

Perhaps he needs to look at his very own membership profile on his Vodou sosyete's website:La Belle Deesse Dereale. As of September 21, 2013, his membership profile reads that he wasinitiated in Santeria and underwent the Kariocha to become a priest in 2004. (Not when he was 6months old)

An enlarged pullquote for legibility:

Transcript of the above pull quote:In 2004, I underwent the Kariocha ceremony and was also made a priest of Santeria. I wascrowned to Obatala within the Igbodu and was given the name Efunsegun Adeyefa and I becamea Santero, a Priest of Santeria.

Liam Richard­Howes is covering something up. He's creating a false story to give his words anair of legitimacy, but the truth is that what is written can never be erased. Here we have plenty ofproof to show that at best, Liam was initiated as a priest in Santeria in 2004, not in 1978, and thathe does not have Pinaldo.

Here is a screen capture of an interaction between Liam and famous Lucumí author Ocha’niLele on twitter, posted on July 8, 2009. Clearly here Liam states that he is only 5 years old inOcha (meaning 5 years of initiation). Doing the math that indicates that Liam was initiated in2004 as the first iteration of his website states ­ not when he was 6 months old.

Transcript:Liam Richard­Howes @HounganLiam@ochanilele okay, I’m only 5 in Ocha, so is it okay that I don’t know who Korinkoto is?8 Jul 09

For the record, Korinkoto is the orisha that is sometimes considered the brother of Orisha Oko.He is depicted as a scarecrow who guards over the crops and tends to them, protecting them atnight (where Orisha Oko guards them during the day), and very connected with the mysteries offertility deep within the earth.

In his introduction at the Lucky Mojo Forums on June 29, 2009, Liam introduces himself as aSantero and an ORIATE! He also ­ notably ­ states he was initiated in 2004, not when he was 6months old. See this screen capture from the Lucky Mojo Forums below.

Forum URL:http://forum.luckymojo.com/hello­from­new­zealand%25C7%2583­t1760s90.html

From a Facebook Message Conversation About His Initiators:

Pullquote enlarged for legibility:

Transcript:My name is H’oungan Liam, and as you can probably tell from my name, I’m a H’ounganinitiated to the traditions of Vodou. I am also a Oriate/Santero of Santeria initiated to themysteries of Obatala in 2004.

Liam is most definitely NOT an Oriate. An Oriate is a master of ceremonies who studies foryears by the side of another oriate to learn every ceremony in our religion, all of the songs,masters divination to the point where he can perform a life reading. Liam has been living on theother side of the planet from his godparents and would not have been able to study being anoriate let alone accomplishing that with 5 years of initiation (as of June 29, 2009).

Questionable Santeria Practices

Liam Richard­Howes has posted images on his Etsy profile selling Magical Vodou/Hoodoo Lightsservices. Not only are Vodou and Hoodoo two distinct and different practices, but in his photo heuses to sell the services, he depicts an altar with his Eleggua on it, on which a white candle hasalready been burned ­ dripping wax down the sides of it, and on which a second green dressedcandle has been placed to continue burning. In front of this is placed a small votive candle in a

glass holder which has been dressed with herbs and oils. Eleggua is not Vodou, Eleggua is notpart of Hoodoo. But most importantly, Eleggua is never to be treated in this manner. Whilecandles can be offered to the orishas, they are usually burned (either encased in glass or in acandle holder) in front of their shrines, not on top of the orisha itself. You do not burn candles ontop of your Eleggua. You do not set your Eleggua aflame. This would be considered highlyoffensive to Eleggua, as it “makes him excessively hot” and in Lucumi practice, heating upEleggua in such a manner is to drive him into a chaotic state that would draw in negativeconsequences.

Liam’s Esty shop Vodou/Hoodoo Lights Service URL:http://www.etsy.com/listing/101468444/magical­vodouhoodoo­lights

The same photo can be seen on his kiwimojo.com site as an example of a Hoodoo spell to helpsomeone get a job.

URL: http://www.kiwimojo.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=179896603

His caption reads:

A small work for a client that needed some help in getting a new job. She had been shortlisted fora position, but felt that she was not fully qualified for the job, so she asked for some work to bedone to ensure that she would attain the position. The work was 2 fold. Done on the point ofEleggua, a candle was set for financial success through the job. The Eleggua was surroundedwith employment herbs like gravel root.

Hoodoo spells are not done “on the point of Eleggua” and for that matter, you do not do anySanteria work “on the point” of anything. This is an example of him borrowing Vodou terminology,injecting it into Hoodoo, and misusing his Eleggua shrine in a spell. For someone who claims tohave been raised in Santeria all his life, this demonstrates a very incorrect understanding ofHoodoo, Vodou AND Santeria.

Vodou Initiation Claims

Questionable Vodou Practices

‘The Oricha never fail to amaze me .... I've started preparing the elekes for Gur MamboKomande this evening. It's hard to imagine in just a couple of weeks I'm going to be Godfather tothe highest ranking white woman in Vodou!!! Despite the myths flying around Asogwe isn't thehighest level in the Vodoun. After Asogwe they go on the the next level Gur Mambo/HounganSur Pwen and then Gur Mambo/Houngan Asogwe and then after that there's one more level.The highest non­Hatian initiates tend to make...’(http://www.ljtops.com/growing_ile_315380842.html)

There are no Paket Kongos for the Orisha.

Transcript: ‘Eleggua is so important in all things that we also have one that we keep in theigbodu [temple room]. In our kitchen though we keep a small shrine for Eleggua. Elegguadominates this shrine as St. Anthony who is the other most often syncretised Saint to Eleggua.Next to that sits a Paket Kongo for Eleggua. These are most often seen in Vodou, but wehave made this from the traditions of the Osain/Mucato, filled with herbs, oils, colognes andother things sacred to Eleggua.’(http://pimp­my­altar.livejournal.com/305308.html?nojs=1)

There are no elekes given in Vodou

Transcript: ‘I haven't said too much lately ... we've been busy here with Gwo Mambo Komandereceiving her elekes and then work and we've had dog shows for our Shih Tzu's and I still haveso many altars to share, but at the moment we have visiting L'wa! Yes, the L'wa Danballa Wedo,Matraise Erzulie [not be be confused with Erzulie Freda] and Mama Danto have come to stay,and of course we have a small space for my Met Tet Ti Jean Petwo as well, so I thought I wouldshare with you some photos of our visiting L'wa!’(http://pimp­my­altar.livejournal.com/310623.html)

Again, no elekes are given in Vodou.

Transcript: ‘Up visiting with Obatala we have Danballa Wedo. We have some wonderful gifts forObatala and he is happy to share us with Danballa. The Cobra is a wonderful symbol forDanballa and we have it specially draped in a pure white Eleke to honour him’(http://pimp­my­altar.livejournal.com/310623.html)

I dont even know where to categorize this...

Transcript: ‘In front of the Paket Congo is a small incense burner in the form of the Buddha.The Buddha is the Incarnation of Peace and Tranquility much as Obatala is, and I can't reallyseparate Buddha from Obatala in my own mind.’(http://pimp­my­altar.livejournal.com/305843.html)

Gardnerian Wicca Initiation Claims(work in progress)

“Like many seeking an alternate idea of spirituality I journeyed through many pathways and in 1996 I was initiatedto the tradition of Gardnerian Witchcraft. I was brought to the sublime Third Degree in 1998 and made a High Priestby the hand of Hawthorn and Galahad and had the opportunity to share this beautiful tradition that honours theGoddess of Nature and the Lord of Light for many years.” ­ http://www.kiwimojo.com/oursosyete.htm

First off, we’re all “British”­­the Tradition is British. Secondly, if you had “degrees in British lines”why would you then be done again by LI and then Protean lines? If you had valid degrees, thereis no reason to be redone. The LI line has no issue with accepting British lines (as again, we alltrace to Britain), so this makes no sense. Even less sense to then be “adopted” into the Protean

line, which is not accepted as valid Gardnerian.

He was *initiated* in ‘96, and elevated to 3rd degree 2 years later?!

(Protean was originally LI line. They were considered split off in 1990 when the Gardneriantradition made a decision stating that people of Protean lineage were not considered to beGardnerian (aka “The Samhain Letter of 1990”).)

There is no “rank” of Magus. Some may use the *title* of Magus, but even then, to use that title,you need to have a 3º hive who has a 3º hive off of them. So he’d have to have been a 3º,trained/initiated/elevated a student to 3º, and then they would have to havetrained/initiated/elevated a student to 3º. And this would have only been something that would beconsidered part of LI line. If he was (as he said) brought in through a “British line” (one thatwasn’t LI line) there is no “Magus” whatsoever. Given this guy has no valid (or able to bevalidated) lineage to begin with…

Unsure what it is he’s arguing here, other than line etiquette, and being a snarky individualoverall.

So here, Elaine attempts to correct his usage of terms, and he flounces.

­the wooden anvil, facebook group.

I call utter complete bullshit on this. Doreen retired from Gard Craft in 1959. Her downline is wellknown to us all. She died in Brighton, England. And, for what it’s worth, her Craft name was notHawthorn (nor was it Galahad).

Unsure of what any of this has to do with the price of tea in China. Everyone knows Gerald hadmultiple books, he liked to tinker. This whole “7 generations before Gardner” thing? Don’t knowwhat that has to do with Gardnerian practice.

(editors note; the “Samhain Letter” sundering Proteus from the Gardnerian community was1990; years BEFORE Liam claims “adoption” into protean lines)

Bragging about being adopted into the Protean tradition as if it were Gardnerian is a joke. Notonly did the Samhain letter come out in 1990, but she herself distanced herself and her line afterthat. And, if he was supposedly brought to 3º by Doreen (which is untrue, she was stricken withpancreatic cancer in 1999 and had retired from active Gard life in 1959). Plus, this “Hawthornand Galahad” lineage doesn’t exist in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia or New Zealand.

In summary:

1) Protean is not Gardnerian. The Samhain Letter came out in 1990, which was 14 years prior toLiam’s claim that he “adopted into” that tradition, and claims he “stepped back a bit from the LIline.”2) “Hawthorn and Galahad” do not exist.

3) No Gard I know of nowadays would initiate (no less elevate to 3º) someone under the age of21. That might have been common in the 70s, but it has not been common practice for years.4) Doreen had a very small downline, and he is not known to be in it. She retired from initiatingand such in 1959 or so. Long before Liam existed.5) After days of playing phone tag with Gardnerians in 5 countries, I can find no one who knowsof this “Hawthorn and Galahad” or knows of Liam as being a valid Gardnerian initiate (no less anElder).

Reiki Initiation Claims(work in progress) “ I began studying Reiki while I was still at school and went on to become a ReikiMaster/Teacher. I also studied Seichim/SKHM, Isis Seichim, Karuna Reiki ™, Karuna Ki, Pladian Rainbow LightHealing, and many other healing modalities and become a Master/Teacher in each discipline.” ­http://www.kiwimojo.com/oursosyete.htm